I'm Back!
by Chibi Tenshi Sama
Summary: Warning: Character death. Hikaru has died, but now he's back to haunt Kaoru... **HIATUS**


Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters. These are owned by Bisco Hatori.

Chapter 1: I'm Back!

_A party has been planned for the 23__rd__ of December replacing the Host Club's regular Christmas part in memory of Hitachiin Hikaru who passed on earlier this year. The school feels this loss hard as the younger brother in the 'brotherly love' pair is no longer among us. Particularly hard hit is Hitachiin Kaoru, Hikaru's twin brother, and all the members of the Host Club._

_As most of the fangirls and other students had noticed, the club had shut down for two weeks in November immediately following the accident that killed Hikaru, and injured both Kaoru and Morinozuka Takashi. Although the Club has reopened, Hitachiin Kaoru has not been hosting. All their fans, however, have been understanding and have also been mourning right along with him._

_President of the Host Club, Suo Tamaki, has said this, "Without Hikaru, the place seems so much sadder, but we will still do our best to keep all our clients happy. We won't let this tragedy bring down the quality of our service."_

Kaoru put down the school paper with a sigh. The article summed everything up so concisely. What the journalist had failed to convey, however, was just how devastated everyone was. Hani had cried almost constantly since; Haruhi had been exceptionally depressed after the loss of her boyfriend. And the mood in the Club room wasn't just 'sad' as the article had quoted; it was downright melancholy.

And the worst part? After the accident, Kaoru hadn't cried once. He lost his brother, his twin, the other half of his soul, and hadn't cried _once_. Oh certainly he'd been crying when they got them all out, but he wasn't about to tell anyone the tears were solely because he was in pain, not because he felt sadness, or grief etc. He didn't even feel numb. Just… nothing.

To dodge suspicious questions, he avoided being around people too much. He knew it wasn't normal, this… lack of emotional response, but Kyoya had given him until the Christmas party to grieve, and then was expected to return to hosting. Kaoru simply did as others expected of him, and took advantage of the time off.

The bell summoning people back to class after lunch rang. Kaoru tucked the newspaper back into his bag and pulled out his text books. Maybe after class he'd stop by the Host Club and see how everyone was doing.

§§§---000---§§§

Washing his hands in the bathroom sink after school, Kaoru looked into the mirror, checking his appearance. His reflection looked… strange. Not entirely like him. Paler. But it was a very familiar face he beheld. And although he knew he was wearing a neutral expression, his reflection was grinning at him. Kaoru blinked and shook his head looking again. In the mirror was his own reflection, with the proper neutral expression and right skin tone. 'It must have been a trick of the light,' he rationalized.

§§§---000---§§§

Kaoru wandered idly into the third music room, where the Host Club members were still setting up for the afternoon. Haruhi glanced up at him, her eyes lighting up for just a second, until she realized that it was Kaoru, and not Hikaru. "Hey Kaoru, are you planning to join us for a bit today?"

"I don't know," he replied, "It would be kind of weird…"

§§§---000---§§§

Kaoru sat on his bed and turned on his mp3 player, putting on his headphones. As the music started, it sounded like someone was calling him, so he shut it off and called out, "Did someone call me?" There was no response, so he just shrugged, and turned his music back on. After a few minutes, Kaoru heard his name called again so he paused the music, and waited to see if they would call him again if he didn't answer. There was no further sounds, so he went back to listening to his music. For a moment, he thought he heard someone mutter, "This isn't working…" but he ignored it.

Minutes later, his cell phone rang. Kaoru once again paused the music to answer the phone. There was no number in the call display, in fact, to all appearances, no one was calling, but it still rang. He picked up. "Hello?"

"Finally you answer," was the response of an all too familiar voice.

Kaoru eyed the phone carefully, then hung it up, putting it down gingerly. He backed away from it slowly, as though if he moved too fast, it would come after him. Once he was out the door, he sprinted down the stairs and into the living room. He took a seat on the couch and rested his head in his hands.

"There is no way that I just heard Hikaru talking to me over the phone. I am not going crazy."

A/N: We'll see how this goes. R&R please! Flames will be used in my fireplace!


End file.
